


Mystery Valentine

by morganaDW (morgana07)



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Developing Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Schmoop, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-06
Updated: 2014-02-06
Packaged: 2018-01-11 10:15:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1171858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morgana07/pseuds/morganaDW
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>1-shot. It's February on the set of season 9 and both Jensen & Jared are getting some mysterious gifts. While it's amusing it also begins to make Jensen see things a little differently & as both of their lives take a drastic change it's time to take a chance as he chooses to make a confession to Jared while the sender of the gifts begins to think these two will never see what's in front of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mystery Valentine

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Minor for possible language but nothing too dramatic since for this one I was trying to go for caring and sweet.  
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything.  
> Note: I'm honestly not sure where this came from. I was working on my other J2 piece & the Muse began channeling Misha meddling to get the boys together. I'll admit to this not being as explicit as what I normally do but it felt more like the beginning of a building relationship so I hope you guys enjoy it.

**Mystery Valentine**

“Seriously?”

“What? You got flowers yesterday and did I make fun?”

“No but then I didn’t get three dozen yellow roses, a poetic note and a huge three pound box of chocolates either.”

“I’ll share my chocolates.”

Jensen Ackles laughed at the wide innocent smile on his co-star’s face while holding out the box of heart shaped candy. “I’ll take you up on the offer after we finish filming…if you don’t have it all gone by then.”

Jared’s love for all things sweet wasn’t a secret on the set of Supernatural and after nine years nothing could make the 6’4” lovable boy inside the man smile more than candy…unless it was the flowers he’d just had delivered to his trailer.

“‘ _Yellow roses for my favorite Texas rose,_ ’” Jensen read the note of the unsigned card that had come with the flowers. “Secret admirer, Jay?” he teased while a little surprised at the spurt of something he’d felt after seeing the flowers and also the note.

“Do you?” Jared Padalecki countered with a teasing smile since each of them had been getting the mysterious little gifts for the last week or so but it seemed like now that Valentine’s Day was fast approaching the gifts were coming more frequently.

Flowers, candy, odd little cards or notes that the poor PAs and other staff could only say were delivered by a delivery man who’d just been paid to deliver.

Of course that meant their bodyguard had been on constant guard for crazed stalker fans as well but yet the gifts and notes all stayed normal without any sign of possible stalking.

It was also a good source of amusement on set since while it wasn’t odd for either star to get gifts or cards it did seem strange that they were both getting something almost daily.

While both men were still married publically neither had admitted that their marriages were on the rocks and only held together to avoid bad press.

Since they were best friends and as close as brothers, Jared and Jensen both knew about the others marriage issues and had talked long into the night when either needed an ear.

The gifts were a fun distraction even if this one might have Jared so hyped on sugar that the director would be snarling.

Taking that into account Jensen did reach over to take the box of chocolate, some of which had already been devoured, to sit it aside while smirking at the flowers. “Sure Gen’s not trying to woo you back?”

“I was the one doing the wooing back when we were dating so these aren’t from Gen,” Jared knew who he wished they were from but kept his mouth shut as he watched his best friend push the candy even farther out of reach. “Is Danneel sending your early Valentine’s Day haul?”

“Very doubtful since she hates that cologne that was delivered Tuesday,” Jensen snorted while sighing when a long arm still managed to get a piece of candy. “I will lock this in my trailer or else you’ll be bouncing over the set again.”

“I skipped lunch to talk with my lawyer,” Jared admitted suddenly, eyes dropping to the card still held in his hand that had the faintest smell of cologne on it. “She filed.”

Jensen had been moving a vase of perfectly opened yellow roses, a joke between them since they were both from Texas, when he turned back in shock. “Jay.”

He’d known things between Jared and Gen had been a bit more stressed since the show had been picked up for its 10th season and he’d allowed Jared to talk him into signing a new contract with the network for at least another two years but his friend hadn’t let on it was bad enough that the former actress would actually file for divorce.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” he sat back down with the box of candy and just consigned himself to buffering Jared’s hyper side while they shot a long and exhausting night shoot.

“When I got the papers you’d just had a fight with Danneel and had a long shoot that day so I didn’t want to bother you,” Jared shrugged, not really wanting the candy but needed something to take the edge off his nerves. “It’s not really as bad as I was expecting it to be,” he admitted, adding. “She only wants a small amount in alimony, child support for the boys and the house in Austin. We can sell the one here and split the money.”

Jensen bit his tongue from saying what he thought of that but reached to grab for the take-out container he’d grabbed from the lunch truck for some reason since he’d ate lunch already. “Good thing my ‘feed Jared’ radar was on today and I grabbed you this from the truck since I knew you always went for those when they had Sloppy Joes, cole slaw and fries.”

“Do I have time?” Jared was looking for a clock to see what time they needed to be back to the set when the food carton was set in his lap.

“I’ll make sure you have time,” Jensen would just come up with a line to excuse them being late since he wasn’t budging from his friend’s trailer when a knock came on the door. “Yeah?” he called without thinking and missing the small smile on Jared’s face.

“Thought I’d come to see the new floral shop Moose is starting,” Mark Sheppard opened the door with a smirk that was so much like his character that it was often hard to find where Crowley stopped and Mark began. “Interesting color choice.”

“I’m thinking someone will be running around with a guitar singing that song before the week’s up,” Jensen smiled, leaning back on the sofa after snatching a towel so his friend wouldn’t have lunch all over his jeans. “You and Misha done shooting?”

Mark wasn’t on set everyday but he’d picked up on the stories of the array of gifts being sent to both actors. This delivery was a tad on the overkill area in his opinion but he supposed the sender must be getting pretty desperate since Valentine’s Day was only two days away.

“He’s finishing up and then we’re hanging around to watch Crowley’s two favorite hunters get their asses kicked by whatever monster that thing in makeup was,” he replied, covering his smile with a hand and a cough.

Jared hadn’t been his usual happy go lucky self since lunch but now Mark was seeing a familiar spark back in his eyes as he shot sidelong glances at his co-star who’d gotten up, perfectly at home in the other trailer, to grab a bottle of water.

“Soda,” Jared argued only to have the water put in his hand with a firm shake of Jensen’s head.

“Too much candy already to let you near a bottle of soda, dude,” the older of the two replied firmly, ignoring the thrown puppy dog eyes since he’d become nearly immune to the weapon of choice of both Sam Winchester and the actor who played him. “Bob would kill me and you.”

“Fine but I get to pick dinner,” Jared countered while finishing his fries, a little happier now that he’d eaten and also since it had gotten Jensen to stay while he ate.

Mark knew when the two stars got into a food discussion that he was better off to back out since both were very passionate about what they ate and were also total opposites in how they ate.

“I’m off to collect my angelic cohort in crime,” he paused to stick his head in the door, tongue in his cheek. “So, are we certain you boys aren’t sending this stuff to one another just for…kicks?” he asked curiously, fighting to keep a straight face while Jensen’s eyes went huge and Jared nearly choked.

“No!” both men replied at the same time like they did sometimes and then grinned but Mark could see the shadow of doubt building and knew his job had been done.

“Just asking. Ta-ta, boys,” he called in Crowley’s voice. Shutting the door to hear Jensen trying to get Jared to stop choking on water, the actor looked around the crowded and busy set until he spotted who he was looking for. “The 8-foot tall giant teddy bear with the ‘I Wuv Hugs’ shirt on was pushing it. The giant stuffed Moose with the sign saying ‘My Moose Forever’ was cute but the three dozen yellow roses is just overkill.”

Misha Collins blinked innocently while slipping his phone into his pocket. “What?” he stared over Mark’s head. “You should mention that to whoever keeps sending those annoying little gifts to the boys.”

“I am mentioning it to the person sending them,” Mark snorted, jerking the angel playing man around the corner of a set building to roll his eyes. “This had your name all over it from the start but only you’d think to send something to Jared that would involve yellow roses and Texas. Jensen wouldn’t be quite as obvious if that’s what you’re going for.”

Ever since Misha had joined the show in season four as the often confused and easily manipulated angel Castiel he’d picked up on the vibes pouring off the two main actors and had often complained and moaned to his wife about how oblivious the two Texans were to what each clearly wanted. Not that he’d ever admit to be caught playing matchmaker.

“Nope, don’t know what you’re talking about,” he refused, walking away innocently when he stopped to frown. “Too much?”

“The candy will have Moose jumping all over the place by the time they’re ready to film so I’d hide if anyone else figures out you sent that to him but the rest of it, you’re thinking too obvious. It won’t work,” Mark had seen the same vibes right after the first week he’d spent shooting with Jensen and Jared.

It wasn’t the physical since they were always messing around and at Cons they were always sitting close and teasing one another but it was the little things that gave it away to those who might be looking for it.

He’d seen the long looks, the silent smiles shared between them in between takes or during Cons. He’d watched Jensen know without looking where Jared was and vice versa and had lost count of the times he’d seen him sharing his lunch or dinner with Jared since it seemed like there were days when you couldn’t give him enough to eat.

“Those two are too deep into denial to see what’s right in front of them,” he told Misha, pulling him back further so they could watch the show’s two stars walk to the set. “See?”

Height difference aside there were times when it seemed like Jared and Jensen were two halves of the same coin. There were days like this when their steps even matched except when Jensen paused to pull the collar of Jared’s jacket out when it was folded in but also on this day it was the way his hand hovered close to his friend’s back that told the story.

“Something’s happened,” Misha had seen it too, recognizing the signs of Jared’s tension and also Jensen’s temper which was something he’d been noticing when either of them had wife trouble. “Jensen’s got that ‘ready to snap on someone who gets too close’ look.”

“I’m guessing it’s whatever had Moose down after lunch,” Mark leaned back against the trailer to eye the other man. “I’m afraid to ask this but what else do you have arranged to show up?”

Misha debated on denying it more but then shrugged; he needed backup on this since it didn’t seem like Jared and Jensen were getting with his program of recognizing unrequited love when it showed up in front of their faces. He’d have to hit one or both of them in the head.

“Tomorrow a dozen pink roses for Jensen, a box of his favorite snack, a silk tie and Jared’s getting serenaded,” Misha coughed in his hand while shooting a disgruntled look at the groan. “What? I’m trying for subtle here.”

“Jensen said by the end of the week there’d be someone singing that song…since I’m guessing that’s what you ordered?” Mark rubbed his head at the smile. “So let’s see what you’re facing here. You have two stubborn Texas boys who have never showed one tiny amount of interest in the other sex so odds are good that getting either of them to admit feelings for the other will be like Crowley entering Heaven.”

“But you can take one look at them and see how they feel for one another,” Misha countered with a finger in the air only to have it pulled down.

“Very true but going from those deep longing looks to full blown admitting feelings to one another are on the other end of the spectrum, genius,” Mark countered. “I think if you had another month of these little gifts and not so subtle hints than maybe this would work but if you want it before Valentine’s Day then you’re just going to have to pull out the middle man and skip to the main event so to speak. Put ‘em together in a setting that screams romance and hope that one of them opens his mouth.”

Misha had to admit it was bold and a bit forward but he liked it. He was also running out of ideas for subtle gifts since Jensen wasn’t easy to buy for. “I have a plan,” he suddenly announced with a huge grin that just scream trouble.

“Now that scares me more than the stuffed moose,” Mark muttered but decided to hear it out so he’d know why Misha’s body would probably soon be found floating in a frozen lake.

The next day the scene was reversed with Jared sniffing the bright pink roses and swiping a piece of candy while shooting his best friend a smile and fighting not to laugh at the tie. “Interesting…tie, Jen,” he deadpanned but had to look away at the low growl that was more Dean then Jensen. “I think Adam could work it into a script.”

“Does Dean get to strangle Sam with it?” Jensen rolled his eyes while placing the gawdy tie that was a bright blue with a moose and a tiger on it back in the box. “I’m beginning to wonder if the tie wasn’t your idea since it would be something you’d buy.”

Jared stuffed candy in his mouth to give himself time to answer that. It was true he’d debated on sending his friend something to maybe gauge his feelings on a certain matter that Jared already knew the answer to but he’d backed out at the last minute.

Losing his family to divorce was one thing but losing his best friend because Jared couldn’t bury a secret he’d kept for nearly nine years was another.

“Dude, you’ve already got someone sending you weird stuff quit hitting on me,” he finally replied, turning to see what else had been delivered today and missed the slightest change in Jensen’s green eyes. “So…you heading back to LA for the weekend?”

“I was thinking about it,” Jensen frowned upon noticing the tension that suddenly bunched Jared’s shoulders. “Jared? Something wrong?”

There was plenty wrong right then but Jared bit his tongue to keep from answering. His biggest issue aside from the fact that he was suddenly in the middle of a divorce that might not be as simple as he’d said earlier was that who he knew in his heart he really wanted to spend time with was still married and looked to be at least trying to make it work even if Jared felt it was only Jensen putting in the time.

“No, I’m good,” he turned when he thought he could do so without Jensen seeing anything in his eyes to reflect otherwise. “Tell Dani and JJ ‘hi’ for me and…I think I’m going to go rerun Sam’s lines or…”

A hand closed over his before he could get the trailer door open. “What’re you doing this weekend?” Jensen asked quietly, noticing the change in his friend and not able to place the cause.

“Probably running some lines and checking out a place to live,” Jared hadn’t meant to add the last but it came out before he could stop it. “Sorry. I didn’t mean for that to…oh my God,” he heard the music even before a knock came on Jensen’s door and their exasperated bodyguard stuck his head in. “No.”

“I’m about ready to bounce both your asses if this stuff doesn’t stop,” Clif Kosterman growled with a shake of his head. “Jared, it’s for you.”

Jensen followed his friend out the door to stop, blink and then ran his tongue over his teeth while latching onto Jared’s arm to keep him from either dropping or running. “I knew that was coming,” he muttered as a man dressed in a brightly colored Mexican Mariachi outfit with a guitar played and sang ‘The Yellow Rose of Texas’ to his friend.

Jared was embarrassed but the simple note still made him smile even as he wished he could crawl in a hole but leaned back into the hand on his shoulder.

“Find out who the hell is sending this stuff,” Jensen told Clif softly after the song was over and Jared politely went to thank the man.

“Why?” the bodyguard asked neutrally, catching a glance of a head peeking from a window in another trailer. “You want to thank him?”

The pronoun used didn’t sink in as Jensen shook his head. “No, but I might punch someone soon,” he muttered.

The gifts amused and frustrated him. He liked to tease Jared and he liked to see his friend smile considering what he was going through right then but if Jensen was honest with himself the gifts were also now starting to irk him.

Jensen had never been as open or outgoing as his co-star which is why he usually let Jared be front man for their panels at the conventions. He preferred to keep things quiet and low key, not something easily done in their line of work but he’d managed it.

He didn’t do the whole social media thing that Jared, Misha and some others did but he would silently admit that he enjoyed when he and Jared watched the episode together and his friend would use that thing he called Twitter the entire time.

It was the need to keep his life private that allowed Jensen to also keep the collapse of his marriage private though he knew Danneel would be blowing the lid off of that soon enough. He’d been shocked by Gen’s choice of filing but not so much his own wife’s decision as he knew they’d been going through the motions even before JJ’s birth.

They might have had a chance to work it out she’d said if he hadn’t resigned with the network but he did and the papers had been delivered a week later. He just hadn’t told his friend that yet. He hadn’t told Jared because he figured his friend had his own worries to deal with, a grueling season to film and so long as Jensen kept it to himself it was easier to keep the other to himself as well.

Now as he watched Jared try to keep the sadness that something had brought back it was harder to admit how he’d felt for his best friend. It was so damn hard after shooting that scene with Sam in shorts and a tank top to keep how not so brotherly Jensen’s feelings were and had been since the damn second season.

“Hey! You still in there or was that candy laced with something?” Clif snapped his fingers in front of Jensen’s face to get his attention.

“Yeah, sorry. I just have a lot on my mind,” Jensen shook himself out of the daze as he watched Jared head back to his trailer to try to figure out what had just happened to cause the change in his friend’s mood when it clicked. “I told him I was going back to LA,” he whispered, realizing when Jared’s mood had changed.

“Nothing new there except I didn’t think you’d go this weekend seeing as it’s Valentine’s Day and I thought both you and Dean had sworn that holiday off,” Clif was still close enough to hear him. “Let me know so I’ll know if you need a ride while I try to get him to tell me what the hell he’s doing,” he urged.

Valentine’s Day made Jensen groan inwardly. Of course it was. He’d arranged to have flowers sent to his mother, sister and a single flower sent to his daughter but he hadn’t given it a thought after that.

Last year they’d taken their wives out for a joint dinner at a fancy restaurant but it had turned more into a twosome when Gen and Danneel ended up talking about mutual interests while Jensen and Jared compared notes in the season, what they thought would be coming and how best to mess with Misha.

This year would be different, especially since Jared believed he was alone in the whole divorce arena. So Jensen thought he now knew what the plummeting mood was over and could kick himself.

Jared always did get a little uneasy when their characters weren’t in sync or were bickering so that was one issue. Then he was going through the ups and downs of keeping on a smile while his life was collapsing and now he thought his best friend was leaving him on a weekend that just would not be good.

“So not happening,” he decided suddenly while also making another choice that could either crash and burn or work out well. But first he needed an accomplice and he suspected he knew the one to get.

“En garde!” Misha was in his own trailer reading for Castiel’s next scene and playing with the shiny angel blade when he yelped as his door was opened. “Didn’t your mother teach you to knock?” he glanced between Jensen’s tight expression to the fake blade and wished he had more between them. “Trouble?”

Jensen glanced around the cluttered trailer to smirk as his fingers touched the brochure for Mariachi bands. “I should punch you just for the tie alone,” he growled, wondering why the hell he hadn’t suspected Misha before as the mysterious gift sender.

“What tie?” Misha could deadpan with the best of them and while he’d let Mark Sheppard in on his little plan he wasn’t stupid enough to admit anything to Jensen since he knew the man did have a temper and it looked like it was close to the surface today.

“Cute, deny it but I’m willing to not kill you and have Clif lose the body if you do something for me,” Jensen grabbed a sheet of paper to write an address down. “You’re going to get Jared to this address tomorrow night. I don’t care how you do it or what you tell him so long as my name doesn’t enter into it,” he smiled as he held out the paper. “I’ll take care of the rest after he’s there and you make yourself scarce.”

Taking a look at the address, Misha pursed his lips while his mind was whirling. “Ummm, why?” he merely asked, not bothering to agree since they both knew he’d do it.

“Jared needs a new place, that place just happens to have room and…if he gets one more gift, gag or serious, before then it better be something I’d send him,” Jensen replied with a lifted brow. “Are we clear?”

He could deny again but there was something in Jensen’s tone that made the other actor silently cheer so he merely folded the address to slip it into his pocket. “How exactly am I supposed to bring up a possible place to live when I never knew he needed one to begin with?” he challeneged.

“Misha, you’re the one person on set who knows all and sees all. You’ll figure it out just get him there by 7 or I tell him who sent the stuffed moose and I don’t think he’ll be quite as accepting of your meddling as I am,” Jensen turned to leave when he paused to sigh. “Was it that obvious?”

“Only to someone who watches you with him and sees how he looks at you,” Misha replied, sitting up to lay his blade aside. “You okay with it?”

“Ask me that on Monday if I still have a best friend because this could very well be the worst mistake I ever make,” Jensen went out to go make a couple more calls.

That day and the next had some really tough and emotional scenes shot so Jared was emotionally and physically exhausted more than usual on a Friday so he really just wanted to go home, while he had one, drink a couple beers and fall into bed while not thinking more on the newest papers from the lawyer and how much he wanted to pick up the phone and call his best friend.

Normally when he was like this he’d call Jensen and they’d either talk on the phone or go to one of their places to hang out, eat junk, play video games or watch TV. Now with Jensen on his way back to LA it looked like his choices were cut back or they will be after he makes Misha happy.

Jared still wasn’t sure how in the hell the other man even knew he was looking for a place but then before he asked he merely shrugged it off as another Misha mystery.

He wasn’t in the mood really but after Misha whined a bit he’d given in to at least see the place though he wished it didn’t have to be at night and not this night.

“What is this guy? A vampire?” he asked through a yawn as he glanced at the lights of the Vancouver neighborhood he was being driven to.

It was on the other side of the city from the place he and Gen had bought but it was still a nice place with quiet streets, nice looking homes and condos and even a few with yards since Jared couldn’t imagine being in a place without a yard.

“Uh, no, he just works days,” Misha had tried to think of every complaint or excuse Jared would use to get out of going so he could counter it. “Vicki says it looked like a nice place online,” he tossed his wife to the wolves since he was certain if Vicki had a good opinion then Jared would relax. “So…”

“No, I’m not ready to talk about it but when I am I will,” Jared accepted Misha’s concern but it felt wrong to talk about his deepest issues with anyone but Jensen. “Did you see Jensen before he left the set?” he asked suddenly.

It was odd for his friend to take off without saying anything to him or making some joke or something but Jared tried to let that go since he knew they’d been running behind with some delays so Jensen might have been late for his flight.

“Just while he was running to grab his bag and yelling something to Clif to keep an eye on you and if anymore candy showed up to save him some,” Misha adlibbed that part because that wasn’t close to what Jensen had told him before he left the set earlier. What had been said was more in line with something Jensen’s character might say. “Have you guys ever thought that sometimes Jensen channels more of Dean than is good for him?”

“Huh?” Jared glanced over before laughing. “Dude, Jensen is pure Dean at times. My way to bring him back to normal is just hold out an old battered AC/DC tape I still have from season one. He shoots me this look before it hits him and then Jen’s back.”

Misha almost banged his head off the wheel at the tone Jared used when mentioning Jensen but held back for when he saw them on Monday morning…unless by then he was running for a border. He thought Russia might be safe enough.

“So…here it is,” he hadn’t had time to make a drive by earlier so the modern two-story condo like home in the Vancouver suburb caught him off guard by how sweet and normal it looked with two floors, a front and back yard set off the quiet street with a large garage. It was hard to see what else it had in the dark but Misha was silently wondering just what the hell Jensen was up to.

Jared had sat up to peer through the windshield. He’d been prepared to quietly see the place even if his disliked it since it was Misha but he had to attempt he saw the potential even if it might be a little bigger than he was looking for.

“The owner here so we can look at the inside?” he asked while getting out with a groan as his back popped. There were times when doing his own stunts, even if he insisted on it, sucked.

“He’s supposed to be,” at least Misha hoped someone was here, coughing when he felt a text come through his phone. “Hang on, this might be him,” he glanced down to see the message.

‘ _Door’s unlocked so come in_ ,’ it read.

“Yep, he’s…upstairs so he said to go in,” Misha was surprised to actually feel nervous. He adored these two and just wanted them to be happy so he prayed this didn’t go bad. Of course he was also praying it didn’t go bad so his wife wouldn’t kill him for meddling.

Jared paused as he carefully wiped his shoes on the mat outside the door before stepping inside to see a short hallway that entered into a large living room with high ceilings, a large glass bay window that seemed to overlook water at the back of the house, windows toward the front, and a fireplace.

Since it was a new home, built not too long ago, the walls were a neutral color with hardwood floors that gleamed a deep cherry. There was a kitchen that Jared could see from where he stood and there appeared to be a few more rooms on the first floor.

He found it actually warm and homey instead of cool and formal so that was a plus when he stepped in to see a few sparse items of furniture but it was the smell of something from the small dining area that caught his attention and also reminded him that he hadn’t eaten all that much yet today.

“You sure this guy knew you were bringing me?” he felt a little uneasy disturbing the man’s dinner, even take out since he saw the familiar bag from a local place he and Jensen would go to since Jared adored the ribs and burgers they served. “It is Valentine’s Day and he might have plans. Maybe I should arrange to see it another…”

“No, he knows and he’ll be down in a second,” Misha wasn’t sure what the hell he’d do if Jared got all ethical and righteous about interrupting something. “Go take a look at the kitchen and I’ll text him.”

While Jared hesitated he did move into the large kitchen with brand new modern appliances and Misha quickly typed out a message to send.

‘ _Get your ass down here before he decides to leave_.’

It wasn’t three seconds later that a reply was sent and Misha could practically hear the laugh in the other man’s response. ‘ _Patience, grasshopper. He won’t leave._ ’

By the time Misha caught up, Jared had examined the kitchen and had peeked out the backdoor to be able to see enough that told him he was in love with the place but he’d learned to not let that show when dealing with real estate.

The other rooms on the first floor included what could be an office, a small bathroom, a bedroom and a den. All of which didn’t have much furniture yet and could use paint but he liked it. The steps to the second floor were straight with a polished rail but he held off until he’d spoken to the owner.

“So it doesn’t look lived in. Is he looking to sell, rent, lease? Is it for one person or will he have others?” Jared hadn’t had a roommate since the first year of filming and that was Jensen so he’d have to think about it more if this was a multiple renter situation.

With his schedule and lifestyle he preferred to live alone and he was sure anyone else wouldn’t care for the madness that could follow him around.

Misha was thinking of a reply when he let out a sigh of relief when he was spared from answering.

“I guess that depends on how you feel about a roommate again.”

Jared’s head turned back to the steps, feeling his eyes get wide just as his pulse jumped as Jensen walked from the upstairs. “Jensen,” he blinked, confusion setting in. “Uh…what? Roommate? I thought you needed to catch a flight to LA and…Jen, what’s going on?”

Impressed that his friend had actually managed to fit all of his questions into one semi-coherent statement, Jensen smiled a little as he stepped off the last step. “What do you think of the place?” he asked instead of answering, letting his fingers curl around Jared’s elbow as soon as he got close enough and felt the tension rippling through the younger man.

“The upstairs has the bigger bathroom, two actually, and another couple bedrooms and a room that could be an office. It has an attic but it’s mainly storage. There’s a small dock off the side and a little shed for a small boat. It has a full yard and a pool but it needs some glazing or so I was told,” he went on while easing Jared back into the living room. “Fireplace works, all modern appliances. Plenty of room.”

“Yeah, it looks great but…” Jared was still stunned and unsure. “Jensen, what the hell, man? What is this place? Who owns it? What depends on if I want a roommate and why aren’t you halfway back to LA?” he asked, voice getting louder as his emotions began to spiral.

Jared was tired, sore, hungry and more than a little lonely that night so he hated to add confused on top of that list. “Misha said he knew someone with a place I might like so…what’s the game?” he demanded starting to turn a narrow look at the other man when he was turned to face Jensen fully and caught the low warning look that meant to keep his attention focused on him, that this wasn’t Misha’s fault. “What?”

“Misha, you can split now. I’ll take Jared home when he’s ready,” Jensen spoke without breaking eye contact with his friend, understanding that in Jared’s tired state that he needed to keep that or else this could get ugly.

Concern had Misha pausing but when green eyes shot him one look he decided this was out of his hands so he nodded and hastily headed for the door, pausing only when Jensen spoke again.

“Misha? One more thing? This had better not be all over the set on Monday or else you will be swimming,” he warned while keeping a hand on Jared. “Now split.”

Jared managed to hold his tongue until they heard the car drive off but when he opened his mouth to either yell or demand a hand covered it.

“Before you overreact just answer me one thing. Do you like this place?” Jensen had been pacing the upstairs all night. He’d been going over the ways this could all go wrong and also the ways it could go right. Right then he wasn’t sure which way they were leaning.

“Yes,” Jared replied softly. “But…”

“Go look at the upstairs and then I’ll answer all your questions,” Jensen urged, holding his breath until Jared finally moved to climb the steps. “Please let this work. Please don’t let me have misread this so wrong after so many years.”

The night before Jensen had laid awake replaying nine years of friendship. He’d gone over every day he and Jared had been together, the few fights they had, the times spent together and the times apart. He went over the week Jared avoided him after his engagement to Danneel was announced and how he’d had gotten drunk both times Jared had said he was engaged, first to Sandy and then to Gen.

Jensen had shot awake at 4AM in a cold sweat as it finally hit him why he felt at peace and whole when he was in Canada shooting but at a loss when he wasn’t. Now all he could do was hope Jared didn’t freak out.

Jared still wasn’t sure what was going on and he was determined to find out but he did prowl the second floor. These rooms looked bare as well except for the one room, the largest of the bedrooms up here which he guessed must be the master.

This one had a large king size bed with a deep red and gold comforter and matching pillows. The matching dresser and bureau were all a deep dark wood but he didn’t snoop closer except when he noticed something on the bed then he stepped closer.

There was a tape player and a card with his name. Eyeing the player Jared went for the card and felt his lips curve into a smile at the Valentine’s Day card with a cute puppy with big eyes on the front. Opening it he felt his knees start to shake at both the handwriting and then the words since he’d know Jensen’s writing anywhere.

“‘ _I hope you’ll read this all the way before you freak out or get pissed off. I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing here or not, Jay. I hope I am and I hope after tonight I don’t lose our friendship if I’m wrong. We’ve been best friends for nine years and I hope for many more to come but I’ve also kept a secret from you for about seven of those years if not longer. I buried it, I tried to ignore it and I’ve done a damn good job but I’m tired of pretending that when I leave the set to go home at night or when I go back to LA or Texas that everything’s good because it’s not. It’s not good, Jared and it was just last night that I figured out why._

_“‘For two months I’ve been going back to LA every other weekend and roaming a hotel room since she got the house and I’m selling my place in Vancouver but we’ll get to that soon. Danneel filed for divorce three months ago. She and JJ are happy in their new home and I still get to see my daughter on weekends when our schedules mesh. It wasn’t and won’t be a pretty divorce but by this point I don’t care so long as I still can see my daughter and…I manage to hang on to my best friend. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to bug you with my problems when I knew you were going through issues with Gen._

_“‘You’re my best friend, Jay. We’re closer than brothers. You know me better than I do at times and…this is the part where you may freak out…and I’ve loved you in a way that isn’t so brotherly since about the second season. I was lost, head over heels by the sixth but…I know you don’t feel the same so I’m hoping that telling you this doesn’t ruin what we have but I can’t lie to myself anymore and say I gave up on my marriage because of my career. I didn’t. I gave up my marriage because I made the choice I was given and while my child never will be a choice my friendship with you was so I made it. Now I see where it gets me._

_“‘Play the tape, Jay and…I’m sorry if this upsets you. I have some faint hope that it won’t and that I haven’t just cost myself the one person besides my daughter that I love. Oh, I didn’t send the flowers or the note but I’m borrowing the message it was sent with. Jensen._ ’”

Jared was numb. His confusion over what was happening was nothing compared to the shock reading the message in the card put him in.

He knew that both Jensen and his character weren’t good with words so he’d read between the ones written to catch the message as well as Jensen’s fear of his reaction to being told his co-star, his best friend on nine years, loved him.

Lifting the tape player with a shaking hand, Jared turned it on and within four cords of the acoustic guitar he wasn’t sure if wanted to laugh or sob but when the ‘Yellow Rose of Texas’ ended to go into a song Jared knew was one Jensen had wrote the tears won out.

His friend hardly sang for others at least not without a lot of badgering so to hear the clear strong voice playing and singing on the tape meant for him told Jared more than any number of gifts or unspoken words could.

“You…you didn’t send the flowers?” he asked after the player clicked off for the second time and he sensed he was no longer alone in the room.

“No, I considered sending you candy but thought you’d already had way too much of that to last a month,” Jensen spoke from the door where he was standing nervously. “Plus I thought sending you yellow roses would be a bit much but I’ll reconsider for next year…if there is a next year or a tomorrow.”

Understanding his friend didn’t know how to take his reactions Jared reached up to wipe his face of the tears that had fallen before glancing toward the door. “Did she leave because I talked you into extending your contract?” he asked with concern.

It had never been a secret that Danneel hadn’t cared for Jensen shooting a show so far away but unlike Gen who had made the concession to living in Vancouver with him his friend’s wife had flat out refused that compromise since she didn’t care to be that far away from Los Angeles.

“Not just for that since we’d been having issues for a good while but that was the final straw,” Jensen shrugged, stepping into the room slowly to close the door behind him. He was taking it as a partial good sign that Jared wasn’t on his feet or in his face yet. “She’d told me that if I signed again, if the show went past 10 seasons that I must want it more than a family. It was bound to happen and I knew it when I signed that contract so I made the choice.”

“What choice did she put out, Jensen?” Jared had read that part of the card several times and feared he knew. “Was it the show or was it me?”

Jensen smiled at that, his crooked smile that was meant to show that he was alright with his decision. “You know me, Jay. I’m still a Texas boy at heart and this Texas boy never has liked to be giving ultimatums when it comes to who I have in my life,” he took another slow step, wanting to reach out to brush long hair out of his friend’s eyes but held back. “You’re not at fault for my marriage failing. Am I at fault over yours?”

“No,” Jared returned but understood that Gen had always been a little more understanding of his closeness with Jensen than Danneel was. “So…could you be less Dean-like when you cliff-note what this card was saying?” he knew what it said but needed to hear it said out loud to reassure his nerves.

“Hey, Dean never could have gotten that much out,” Jensen argued with a low chuckle, rubbing his hands over the soft denim of his faded jeans nervously. “Can you tell me how you’re reacting to this first?”

“I’m still here, Jen,” Jared returned simply, placing the card and the player aside as he stood up to see the way his friend instantly stopped. “I think if I was against what I think this was saying or what the song meant then I’d be more…agitated by now. But so there isn’t any mistake in communication…what exactly were you trying to say?”

“You want to hear me say it,” Jensen could read the wariness on Jared’s open face so clearly and knew how easily this young man could be hurt no matter the image he gave off on set or to the fans.

“Yeah, kind of need to,” Jared nodded, surprised at how fast his heart was beating now as his eyes met Jensen’s and his best friend smiled offered the same slow smile that he’d given him so many times over the last nine years; the one that never failed to make him smile back, the one that usually Jared got to see.

Jensen was still a little worried about the ultimate reaction but decided he’d come too far to back out now. “I…I love you,” he said and then waited to see what would happen.

“Huh,” Jared’s lashes were covering his eyes as he dropped his head a little but could still see Jensen’s face and noticed the anguish on it at not knowing how this would play out for them. “That’s what I thought it said. Say it again?”

“Jay,” this time Jensen’s voice dropped a notch lower and held the warning tone it could get when his nerves were close to the edge.

“Jen, I’ve been crazy for you since we shot the scene on the bridge in the first episode,” Jared looked back up with a smile, hazel eyes bright. “I just kept it to myself since I knew you weren’t…I mean I didn’t think I was either but I love you and always have and…”

When the words began to rush together like they did when Jared wasn’t sure what to say or how to say it, Jensen closed the distance between them in less than four steps to catch his friend’s face between his palms. “Only you, Jay,” he told him in a voice that was deep with emotions he never thought he’d ever say but with each one and each return smile the weight on his heart seemed less. “Only you.”

The drop in tone had always made Jared’s stomach quiver but this time he allowed the feeling to travel lower as he looked into Jensen’s eyes to see green eyes he’d been staring into for years getting darker with a desire the younger man never thought he’d be able to see and say that he was the cause behind it. “Jen?”

“Yeah?” Jensen knew he needed to back off now so they could talk this thing through but just being this close to Jared, to be able to touch him and maybe not have to watch how he touched him or looked at him was sending an instant burst of lust right through him.

“Whose house is this?” not that it was a vital question right then since Jared thought figuring out a way to have his co-star’s lips touch his was a lot more important but he though he should make the effort to ask.

“Mine,” came the reply as Jensen cocked his head while brushing his thumb along Jared’s jaw before moving it down to trace the outline of his lips and adding absently. “Or it will be mine when the papers come back in a few days. Want to be my roommate again?”

Jared bit back the low groan at the rough feel of a calloused thumb running over his bottom lip. “You did all this tonight to just get me here? Got Misha involved? Wouldn’t it have been just as simple to ask me?” he managed to ask even as he thought his brain was going to mush when he suddenly realized how close they were standing to one another and an empty bed.

“Would you have agreed to consider it if I had flat out asked you to live with me?” Jensen knew the answer even before he was graced with a mild bitch face that both Jared and his character liked to use. “Exactly. I knew you wouldn’t so I thought if I got you here to see it and you liked it that it’d be easier to talk you into it later assuming this part didn’t blow up in my face,” he smiled, fingers of his other hand slipping around to curve over the back of Jared’s neck and gently pulled his head closer. “Besides, Misha owes me for meddling and for sending you flowers.”

“Misha sent…” Jared nearly pulled back at that to express his surprise when the teasing touch of warm lips brushing over his reminded him there was more important things to do right then. “God,” he whispered as their lips played and teased without really touching. “Jensen…”

Jensen would only admit under torture the nights he’d laid awake with thoughts of kissing Jared, of touching him. Now that he had that chance his body felt like it was on fire with need and want as he kept the touch of his fingers light when they slipped up to touch long soft thick dark hair. “Tell me you want this, Jared,” he murmured, lips teasing over Jared’s to feel him trying to catch his mouth with his but needed to know for sure. “I want to kiss you but only if you…”

“Kiss me and I’ll forget there’re ribs downstairs and I haven’t eaten since lunch,” Jared muttered, knowing he had to be in love if he was willing to pass up his favorite ribs in favor of his friend’s kiss.

“I’ll feed you later,” Jensen told him and then gave up the inner fight of holding back to finally let his mouth find Jared’s but instead of the hot, searing and hard kiss that Jared might have been expecting by the flash of need in green eyes it was hot but also slow.

Jensen hadn’t been sure until he made the move but he managed to slow down and gentle their first kiss so it was more a teasing touch of lips instead of a brutal claiming. He only deepened it at the first low moan from Jared.

The kiss became more heated, more passionate as Jared felt his legs finally give out and only a strong arm around his waist kept him standing until they finally hit the bed. “You know how everyone likes to say Dean’s lips should be labeled as dangerous?” he glanced up into Jensen’s face to smile at him, eyes dark with need as he settled his hands on narrow hips. “So should yours.”

“I can do better when I have the time,” Jensen promised with a wink, keeping himself levered over his friend to hold his eyes while stilling kissing him softly, drawing on Jared’s bottom lip with his teeth to feel Jared tug him closer. “You going to move in so I have the time, Jay?” he teased while continuing to kiss Jared, letting his tongue slip out to lick over his until it opened on a sigh.

“You going to kiss me everyday like this if I do?” Jared asked on a moan, body twisting as his jeans had suddenly gotten to the tight side of uncomfortable.

“This and more,” was the reply while Jensen debated on the more that he could see they both wanted but he eased back suddenly to he could sit on the side of the bed, his hand on the center of Jared’s chest to feel the rapid beat of his heart. “I never thought I’d ever be able to say this to you or have you this close to think of doing more but…you know why I won’t take this too far tonight, right?”

Jared thought he did and debated between groaning or making the move himself to get what his body wanted but the gentle touch as well as what he saw on Jensen’s face took the heat away to be replaced with something that was a little foreign to him: respect and adoration.

“Y’know I’m not a girl and that I wouldn’t complain if we did do more than kiss tonight, right?” he countered, meeting the deep kiss with a whimper because he swore Jensen could make him senseless with just the way he kissed him and teased him with his tongue.

“Yeah, got that,” Jensen smiled against the soft, kiss swollen lips he was lightly teasing with his tongue and teeth while he kept his hand over Jared’s heart. “Except…and tell me if I’m overthinking this but you’re my best friend, Jay. I…love you so is it stupid to want to treat you like you deserve to be treated? I want to take this slow and work up to making love,” he shuddered a little as Jared’s fingers moved to run through his short hair as the kiss continued to deepen until tongues were meeting.

“I want you to get used to being with me like this. I want to see you smile with a touch. I want to learn every part of you by touch, either with my hand or my mouth as I kiss every inch of you before we make love,” he let his lips slide over to place soft kisses along Jared’s jaw before looking up to frown. “Jay? What’s…?” he started to ask as his stomach knotted at the tears he saw in Jared’s eyes when the younger man suddenly moved to sit up and Jensen found himself being kissed back deeply.

“I love you, Jensen,” Jared knew his hands were shaking, that he was shaking but it was so much to take in. He’d given up ever having Jensen in his life as more than a friend and co-star so he was still adjusting to that shock but what had done him in and made the tears come but the deep husky honeyed voice that spoke of love, of slowly moving forward, of gentleness rather than just sex for sex’s sake. “I want to be with you. I want to love you and give you everything you give me. Just…how slow are we talking?”

Jensen laughed, amused and relieved when he slipped his arms around his friend and felt the last of his nerves leave as Jared moved into his arms to hug back. “Depends,” he teased, breath tickling his friend’s ear as Jensen placed his lips close to it. “But I promise you’ll enjoy everything we do in the meantime because while I said we’d work up to making love I never said I was keeping my hands off you. That good with you?”

“Kiss me like you have been and I’d be good with anything,” Jared felt the slight blush as he spoke, settling his head on Jensen’s shoulder as they stayed like they were for several moments; just savoring the quiet and being together finally. Except Jared had never been good with inactivity and his stomach picked that moment to remember it was hungry. “Jen?”

“Let’s go eat while I talk you into spending the night here instead of me driving you back to your place,” Jensen kissed him again and then eased back to stand, holding out a hand. “We good?”

Letting himself be pulled up from the bed Jared’s smile was his full one, dimples showing; the one that he hadn’t felt like giving in weeks. He considered the question for a second. He might have lost his marriage but he’d always be a father to two great sons. He still had the show he loved and while these next few months might be hard as the divorce is settled he’d have his best friend and soon to be lover with him just like he’d be there for Jensen.

“Yeah, we’re good,” he smiled, shivering at the kiss they shared before heading back down to heat up the ribs and sides to eat while Jensen tossed him a can of beer. “So…Misha sent all those gifts?”

“Yeah,” Jensen lifted his eyes with a well-known gleam shining. “He was being…subtle since I guess we were giving off…vibes or something.”

Jared considered that while he ate with a lot more appetite that he originally thought he’d have when he left the set that night. “You think others know?” he wasn’t sure how they’d handle this in public but figured he’d leave that in Jensen’s court.

“Maybe a few who know us but if it’s alright with you I think we’ll keep this between us for the moment,” it wasn’t that he was ashamed of his feelings for Jared. It was more that Jensen was looking to protect his friend from more press and pressure than they’d get once the divorces became public. Most of the fans already teased that they were more than friends anyway.

“That’s fine with me,” Jared agreed, leaning back in his chair once he felt full to look at Jensen. “Jen? Are we dating?”

It might have seemed like a joke or a silly question except Jensen knew the other man too well and understood that despite the jokes, the smiles, and the laidback nature there were things that Jared took seriously. It was one of the reasons that Jensen had chosen to take this slowly.

“Yeah,” he replied, standing to move around the small makeshift table to place his hands on Jared’s shoulders to squeeze while looking into his friend’s face when he leaned his head back. “That okay with you, Jay?”

“Uh-huh,” Jared knew he could get lost in Jensen’s eyes when he smiled like he was right then, feeling any tension left going away at the touch. “We are going to get Misha back for this, right?” he grinned when Jensen leaned down to kiss him upside down.

“Oh, yeah. We will definitely be getting Misha back in some way but only after he thinks he’d safe from it,” Jensen agreed, sharing a knowing look with his co-star. “Though I suppose if he hadn’t meddled we might not be sitting here.”

“Does he have to know that?” Jared turned in his chair to shudder when fingers trailed over his shoulder to tug him over to the small sofa. “He’ll gloat.”

Jensen might have decided the man’s meddling made him think and face his feelings but he wasn’t stupid enough to admit it to his face as he pulled Jared down to sit with him and grinned when his friend shifted more against his side. “No, we’re going to drive him nuts waiting for the shoe to drop.”

Jared laughed happily as he settled, tired now. “Thanks for being here, Jen,” he yawned but fought to urge to close this eyes.

“I’ll always be here for you and with you, Jay,” Jensen murmured, fingers carding back through Jared’s hair and smiling as he felt his friend relax against him. “Love you so much. Thank you for not freaking out.”

Lifting his head, eyes heavy with sleep now that he was calm and relaxed, Jared smiled and met the soft kiss that he didn’t think he’d ever get tired of. “Love you too much to freak out,” he mumbled and shifted so his head was pillowed on his friend’s shoulder while his hand laced with Jensen’s as sleep came fully. “Can we sleep here?”

“I’m not lugging your ass up the steps so I guess we are until you wake up,” Jensen chuckled, hitting the remote to turn the fireplace on while getting more comfortable and letting himself relax as he watched Jared’s face as he slept to see the peace there finally. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Jared,” he whispered and let himself drift off, happy and at peace for what was to come for them.

**The End**

 

**Author's Note:**

> I may write another one to go with this. Not sure yet. We'll see what the muse comes up with in between other stories. Thanks for reading.


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